The present invention relates to a connector for an electronic card.
Conventionally, electronic equipments such as personal computers, portable telephones, PDAs personal digital assistants), digital cameras, video cameras, music players, game machines, and car navigation systems, are equipped with card connectors in order to use various kinds of memory cards such as an SIM (subscriber identity module) card, an MMC (R) (multi media card), an SD (R) (secure digital) card, a mini SD (R) card, an xD picture card (R) (xD-Picture card), a memory stick (R), a memory stick Duo (R), a smart media (R), a TransFlash (R) memory card, a micro SD (R) card, and the like.
Generally, a recent card connector, from the view point of usability, has a push-push structure in which a user operates a memory card as if as a pushing, both in case of inserting and removing the same. A card connector having the push-push structure is formed, when ejecting the memory card, so as to move a slide member engaging and holding the memory card by the repulsion of a spring, however, it may be difficult to remove the memory card in some cases since the engagement between the memory card and the slide member is not released. Hence, there has been provided a proposal of the technique for movably mounting a card locking member on a slide member and moving the card locking member, when ejecting the memory card, in order to release the engagement with a memory card (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2003-6576).
In FIG. 8, a reference numeral 801 denotes a slide member being mounted on a side of the housing of a card connector. An engaging projection 803 and a card locking member 804 engage with a memory card (not shown), and thereby the slide member 801 slides in a front to back direction as viewed in the figure, while holding the memory card. The slide member 801 is urged in a direction of ejecting the memory card (downwardly as viewed in FIG. 8) by a coil spring 802. Here, a hollow 805 is formed on the upper surface of the slide member 801, and the card locking member 804 is held in the hollow 805. The upper end thereof is pivotally connected to the slide member 801, and thereby the card locking member 804 rotates around the upper end. An engaging portion 804a being formed at a lower end of the card locking member 804 is formed so as to project from an opening 806 being formed on the left side surface of the hollow 805 to the inside of the housing and so as to engage with a concave portion at a side surface of the memory card.
The tip of the engaging portion 804a projects to the bottom surface of the housing, and abuts on a tilting surface 808 being formed on the side surface of a card guide 807 being formed on the bottom surface of the housing. Therefore, at the time of ejecting the memory card from the housing, if the slide member 801 is moved in the direction of ejecting the memory card by the coil spring 802, the tip of the engaging portion 804a moves along the tilting surface 808, and therefore the engaging portion 804a is moved in a direction away from the side surface of the memory card. Since this releases the engagement of the engaging portion 804a with the concave portion of the side surface of the memory card, the memory card is released from holding by the slide member 801, and it is possible to remove the memory card therefrom.
However, since, in the conventional card connector, the memory card is slid by the urging force of the coil spring 802 at the time of being ejected, the moving velocity of the memory card and the slide member 801 holding the memory card is increased, and the memory card may jump out forcibly. Therefore, the memory card may fall down and thereby may cause damage or loss. Further, the slide member 801 may collide with a stopper member (not shown) to generate a shock, and this may cause a breakage of the card, and damage of the electronic components or the like within the card.